Keep us posted ....

When life gives you lemons, try to find someone whose life gave them Jack Daniels. Before long you'll be tight friends.

Al

ROTFL, Al!
I'm gonna find a friend who has a life that hands him Laphroaig. :)

And so far, it grew faster in the avocado. Lol

Glenfiddich 21? ;-)

We just did a reverse carving on the back of a mirror - last week, in fact.

Copy/paste to your browser to get an idea of what we did:

http://www.pubworldmemorabilia.com/product.php/1566/40/glenfiddich-logo-metal-pub-sign-vintage-retro-home-bar

The guy was pleased enough with it that he included a bottle of the whisky I mentioned along with the agreed upon price - a very nice gesture ...... and I don't drink!

PLEASE tell me you would never even consider mixing Laphroaig with lemonade!

Al

Nice.
Al...of course not. I don't mix anything with my single malts....and may or may not cause harm to those within my reach who do. Depends on how much I drank, I guess LOL.

I rather like Glenfiddich. Lately, for the last few years, my vice has been Caol Ila. Have you tried this one, Al? Yum. When I drink it I smell like a charcoal bbq but it's absolutely spectacular, so who cares? :)

Now I'm craving scotch. It is Friday...

Nope - haven't tried it. My father had and 3 siblings have varying degrees of alcohol dependency issues. When I honestly assessed my own consumption back in the 90s, I had to admit to myself it was a growing problem for me, so I gave it up entirely while I still could. Haven't touched a single drop since then.

What I miss most is watching the birds on a winter day while savoring a smoky single malt or nursing a snifter of VSOP, but I recognize that as only a small sacrifice. Now, I'll elect a hot cocoa or a favored tea, along with the dog or cat as, it suits them, as my bird-watching companion.

Enjoy the weekend.

Al

Uh....now what?
That avocado seed grew but it's not growing in about 7 different branches all coming out of the seed.
I gave the roots a hard prune some months ago but now not sure what to do with this thing LOL.

Should I buy it down to one branch?

If you don't want a clump style planting, now is the time to remove all but the most vigorous of the stems.

Al

Al, just snip them off at the seed level? Or pull? I want a tree like Josh's! :)

I'd snip ...... then, rub off any new sprouts as soon as they occur.

Al

Al, I did it! :)

I also removed tiny little leaves forming on the single "trunk" (more like branch). I don't top off or anything, right?

That looks much better! Strong work!

Can you move it outdoors?

It should start extending pretty quickly now because where the root system was providing water and nutrients to several stems, it will now channel all the goodies to the last man standing - the single remaining stem.

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." ~ confucius, not me

It started and has remained outdoors. :)

Thanks so much, Al!

You mentioned Confucius in the OP. These are some thought-provoking quotes the single malts may or may not hinder appreciation of:

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Al

I attribute everything to Confucius, lol. No idea why but if it sounds like it might have been a wise saying -- sign it Confucius, haha. And I imitate you (easy as it may be, still flattering), reflect on how many plants I've killed in years gone by and continue experiencing occasional flops....very bitter, indeed. I live by the man's wisdom! :-D

I'm going to reflect on that.

Al

Al,

As you predicted, the little tree is growing faster. And way taller.

Now what? :-)

Shall I chop it off in the middle? I am pretty certain this is chock full of roots. Not sure if I should repot with a root prune and a good chop, or what my objective here is. I asked Josh, but I can't remember which thread and don't think I heard back....and while I did this after seeing his plant, I'm not sure where I'm going with this lol.

Avocado's get repotted earlier in the spring, but if you think it's root bound, pot up for now. If you're just curious and want to see how the tree responds to being halved - go ahead, but there is some advantage in letting the tree grow unencumbered (w/o pruning. It fattens the trunk up much faster, so when you prune next summer, say by chopping it at mid or 1/3 ht, you'll have a more tapered trunk and it will be stouter. It's your call. The object is to have fun & learn how it responds. I've said before that the ability to manipulate your plants so they respond predictably to your efforts adds another layer or level to the growing experience. It makes things more interesting and rewarding, so I'm always pleased to see people experimenting with pruning, root work, or just helping the plant along the path to whatever vision you picture for the future.

It looks good! Good job!

Al

Oh, in that case, I will leave it. I thought pruning it would thicken the trunk (stem?) but not sure why I thought this.

The last time I repotted this was about 2-3 months after rooting it in a small pot and it was a glorious sight of roots. I am figuring, now five months since that repot, this is undoubtedly full. It sure is drying out fast but watering it isn't a problem for me, haha.

Incidentally, I finally got back by Foliage Pro, Al! It's like a breath of fresh air. About 30-40% of the seedlings I was growing on this other stuff and another bottle of Cal-Mag was not doing stellar. The rest were good to great but it seemed to depend on the plant. For instance, the Datil peppers didn't like whatever I did, but some other peppers thrived. I figured out one culprit--I had put some Osmocote type of fertilizer at the bottom of each cup knowing I get really lazy in this heat about fertilizing, but each of those started smelling of ammonia. (Do you remember that, when I posted about a couple of my pots smelling like ammonia a year ago or so? Probably not, but anyway...) I did find that one culprit but even after repotting into plain soil, the oddities weren't improving--at least not rapidly.

Since the FP arrived, I dropped everything and just did 2 doses of it in the last week and wouldn't you know it, the color is changing from chartreuse back to green. It's me, it is always me -- but usually, I can't tell what about me is the matter. With the massive heatwave here (106 today, heaven help us all), some are a little droopy if not watered mid-day, but all of them have improved immensely in the last week. The ones that were doing well have grown a lot, too.

Also, remember awhile back when I wrote you about the big chunk gritty mix I was wanting to make because of my sprinklers? I still make that and love it. Even did one pepper in it, just for fun, and I water the hell out of it without fear. Well, I've since moved homes and now have to water the succulents religiously, but they're doing fantastic, though they did get sunburnt. Strange, too, because I stayed in the same city, two miles away but not being ON THE LAKE has upped my temperature by about 7-10 degrees here, and if I'm not losing it, the sun feels hotter here. They all experienced some burnt leaves before I moved them to morning sun only but they're recovering nicely.

So thank you, Al! Like I always say, the wealth of information you share has made me a much better gardener! Not perfect, but with a little time and trialling, I can usually find my way out of a mess whereas before, the plant would have been compost. And best of all, it's transferable knowledge--not just pertinent to growing in GM OR 5-1-1. :-)

Trunk thickening is directly related to how many cells are laid down in cambial files. The more food produced, the more cell divisions and the fatter the trunks and branches become, so anything you do that decreases the plants ability to produce photosynthate (food), the skinnier your plant will be. The healthiest way to treat plants is let them grow like crazy, then cut them back hard at an appropriate time, followed by a suitable recovery period. Not pruning lets the plant have its way, and pruning too much/too often leaves the plant constantly weak. You can always take off growth - harder to put it back on.

See? It took you about 15 minutes to grasp the concept that too much water in the root zone is not good for the plant. You already left a lot of long time growers standing in your slipstream. Nothing too hard about it, was there?

Al

Yes, I said chop it...not for the trunk thickening, but to make branches, keep the plant low so it won't blow over, and so it can more easily fit near a window during the Winter. It's an Avocado....they basically grow straight up, then put out some long awkward side branches that will droop and throw their weight around. I'd honestly chop it even lower than the middle. But it's up to you. As Al mentioned, it's about your goal with the plant. Do you want branches now, a trunk later, et cetera.....

One thing is certain - I would not re-pot during this heat wave in California. I hate re-potting any Avocado trees, and I do it with considerable finesse, speed, and good after-care....

Josh

So my baby avocado is growing up. Literally. :) I was able to pull out my real camera and go outside because it's been unusually cool, finally. It's like fall here--except I know the heat will come back with a vengeance.

You guys were right (of course) in that the stem is noticeably thickening since I left it alone. It's still in the same soil, I just put some lava rocks and perlite on top as mulch and per Josh's suggestion of putting it in water, it's in that metal mixing bowl. Happier, I think, though I do let it go without every other day still since she drinks the whole bowlful of water when it's offered.

Many of the leaves are bigger than my hand! A couple of the leaves did get holes in them from something so I've since moved her to this table and the massacre has stopped. Not sure what it was but the choices at my new yard are so many--earwigs, roly polys, or who knows wha else? I think I got all the snails and slugs...but every time I say that I find a live one.

Thicker stem! :)

But at this new location, instead of hole-making critters, it seems to attract spiders. And Lord knows I have spiders here that think they pay the mortgage. I have flicked them off countless times but I still see one (the same one or its cousins....they have all looked different and one was basically pure white). Do you see it?

So, since it's cool today---I'mma repot this thing. Josh, you have me a bit scared. In other repots, it didn't blink an eye and moved on nicely but that was when this thing was really young.

Wish me luck!!!

Looking good, and good luck! Remember to keep it shaded and in that bowl of water after the re-pot.

Earwigs are the most likely culprit behind the holes in the leaves....that's what always get mine!

Josh

Well, I did it yesterday after all.

Here's a photo sequence of how it went down. LOL The good news is that the plant is alive. The bad news is that she's not exactly happy but I have seen and done much worse.

Ready to repot!

Roots are circling the bottom but nowhere near as full as I had anticipated. But I think my keeping it in water was not as good for the roots at the bottom. I don't believe they were rotted as they weren't mushy but clearly, not fantastic. I considered for a second putting it right back and leaving it but pushed forward since I got it out and the new potting mix prepped.

Removed the dirt and continued washing off in water. This was water with a little bit of Cal-Mag. Have no idea what I thought that would do but it sounded good at the time LOL.

Tore a lot of roots off while removing the soil but thought that was better than taking too long, given your warnings, Josh. Anyway, instead of going through and really pruning them, this was a good start.

Continued pinching off and/or tugging off the brown roots and essentially was left with this. Pretty clean, still way more little roots than I would have liked to leave but this will have to do this round.

And then voila -- she's repotted. This is just a tad bigger than the pot she was in but not by much. In a shady corner with dappled sun....I did recall you said shade but...it looked good here, right?

WRONG.

An hour later --- not so much. LOL

Alright, new strategy. Left it in the shade near the patio door....not improving an hour later. Still a limp top.

Hmm....air conditioning. Too much heat outside, though it was only about 85 or so yesterday. I took it into the house and left it by the fireplace in my family room, which is on the northern side of the house and rather dimly lit. Within an hour, and this is a crappy photo since it was taken at night, but here she is:

Today, she's a bit droopy all over with all leaves hanging a little lower than shown but I just watered her and the house is at a cool 74 degrees so hopefully, she will perk right back up.

And there is my avocado repotting story. :)

Cool - let's see how she goes.

Al

That's pretty much how it goes! Loss of roots will do that to an Avocado, no way around it. I predict a dramatic leaf-loss, and then a recovery. Just keep moist, and in two weeks resume the fertilization. They always look worse before they look better. Bloody avocados!

Josh

You can say that again. She does look worse though this is better than one point last night where every side leaf was facing true south. I put her outside -- I think the house was too warm and by morning (and now, when this photo was taken) she is a tad better.

arrghhh, I hope those leaves don't all come off. At least the tip is back to standing. She gave me a scare that first day when the tip bent over.

Thanks for the warning, Josh! I would be wiggin' out right now if I had not expected rough waters. The other two times were so easy!

I am watering daily!! :)

When your plants are suffering from a wilting issue, they normally look better toward evening and into the morning. Stomata close for the dark cycle, which markedly slows transpirational water loss from leaves. So while the dark cycle is underway, the struggling root system is better able to keep the foliage turgid.

Al

Would it help, then, to keep it in my darkest room that is also the coolest (because of AC)?

Nope - they need the light to make the food to put toward repairing the root system. Tough love is what it needs. I'd keep it out of the dry AC air while it's recuperating.

Al

Total 11 leaves lost. Josh, we didn't get money, did we? Lol

Hope these look like the leaf loss you expected, Josh? I hope it's not indicative of something else. They hadn't actually fallen off the plant but a light tap and bam--they came off. So I tapped all of them. Nine came off just now, and two about 2-3 days ago.

I had her in my sunroom for the last week. Well, it's not a sunroom but a bedroom with a huge skylight, sunniest room in the house. Now, no matter what she looks like, she stays outside.

Strangely, the top section looks great, all leaves held up high and growing. It's everything but the growing tip that keeps looking sad. I wanted a tree and perhaps it will defoliate its own trunk LOL.

She made it! She's been out in full sun now for a week plus, and didn't lose any more leaves than what I posted about. Trooper.

Thanks for the help, gentlemen! I'm okay never doing that again LOL!

There we go. Just a matter of time :-)

Yeah, no fun re-potting avocados!

Josh

Really haven't been peering into this one lately, but when I watered it today, I noticed it's all gone to hell. This plant is becoming less enjoyable by the day! Lol

It looked like rust but then doesn't feel like rust -- it's all dried and toasty. Crackles and breaks. We have had some hot days but nothing as hot as some of the days it had to endure this summer prior to the repot. It almost looks like it's rootbound again but that's not possible, is it? It's barely been three months!

It's on all of the leaves at least to some degree from mild to severe, except the newest leaves, and you'd think they would toast first if it's sunburn.

I think perhaps it's burning because visible part of the seed is totally charred....

The soil was utterly dry when I watered today and it was probably watered about two days ago, I would guess.

i think I shall chop it. What say you, gentlemen? I'm thinking right where those little leaves are below. I know you said to keep it tall if I want the trunk to thicken, and it's got a ways to go (but it has grown in nicely), but I am really hating all the affected leaves.

The whole plant:

This isn't where it grows--I just moved it in for the photo and in part shade.

For what it's worth, there have been a few occasions where it was a little droopy on hot days and it perked right up with water by early evening. It was not droopy today, just dry soil. And it was 100 today.

I officially live in Hades, Josh and Al!

Hi, Grace, I would just leave it for now. It will shed those leaves.

Yep, it showed the transplant shock later than sooner, but that's okay.

It was 100F here yesterday, as well. Typical September.

Josh

I wondered why your zip code was 00666. My dog just asked me what I was doing. When I read your post to him, he asked me to ask you to say hey to Belial (additional proof he's progeny of netherworld denizens.

If you do decide to chop it, chop it just above the lowest 2 leaves that are healthy. You'll get a new branch/stem from each leaf axil. Let the top one grow and pinch the second as soon as you can after the first 2 leaves have formed ...... unless you want a bush; in which case you would pinch both new branches at the first opportunity (after the first 2 leaves have formed).

TIP - Often when plants wilt during the light phase then regain turgor during the dark phase, it's often indicative of compromised root function; and compromised root function is very often linked to too much water and not enough air in the root zone.

Al

00666, puhahaha!

Well, since neither of you sound alarmed or concerned, I guess I'll chill out. It is horrid looking but if you don't think it's contagious, well, so be it.

I chopped down and dug up two 7.5 foot tomato plants with hundreds of blossoms and fruit at 6:30 this morning for being horrid looking. Just saying.

Al, I was actually regretting not using something gritty. It couldn't get it watered enough before I repotted, so I thought a more retentive soil (which it was in to start with) would fare better. It was sound in theory, OK? LOL

i am itching to repot into something much grittier.....but after that last experience, I don't dare.

Josh, this heat....please let it be over. I'm so tired of summer.